Time taken: 8:12. Judging by the other early times, I think I was very much on the setter’s wavelength today, since my time is a bit under my average, but the other early bird are having a tougher go of it.
Some tricky definitions here, I think the wordplay is straightforward. I tend to do better on puzzles with really clear wordplay.
I wonder if the setter was trying for something here, with multiples of GO and ROLL in the grid.
Away we go…
Blog update: Wow – I don’r think I have ever blogged a puzzle that has neared 100 comments where I didn’t get something outrageously incorrect in the write-up. Between Greek being an offensive or racist term, Greenhouse being obscure slang (I’ll admit, I put it in from wordplay, and before writitng it up looked up both Collins and Chambers which have that a main definition) and the possibility of slab (I solved relief on the first pass so it didn’t enter my mind) there’s a lot of opinoins on this crossword.
Since I am on the East Coast of the USA, and work early on Thursdays, I am usually asleep when most of the comments come in and cannot be an active participant in the conversation, so I add a blog update in my lunch break.
| Across | |
| 1 | Whizz kid‘s very curious message, never opened (2-6) |
| GO-GETTER – AGOG(very curious) and LETTER(message) both mising the first letter | |
| 5 | State Senate extremely reluctant (6) |
| AVERSE – AVER(state) and the outside letters of SenatE | |
| 9 | Simplicity of sense is a hit (8) |
| EASINESS – anagram of SENSE,IS,A | |
| 10 | Born with ancient Greek accent (6) |
| BROGUE – B(born) and ROGUE – Greek is an old slang term for a rogue | |
| 12 | Never off for Yule I suspect (3,2,4,4) |
| NOT ON YOUR LIFE – NOT ON(off) and then an anagram of FOR,YULE | |
| 15 | Gutted officials cover up US university fails (5) |
| OMITS – outside letters in OfficialS surrounding MIT(US University) | |
| 16 | Air foul footwear after short time (3,3,3) |
| TEA FOR TWO – anagram of FOOTWEAR after T(time) | |
| 17 | Hard work securing support for backing mass confection (9) |
| SWEETMEAT – SWEAT(hard work) containing TEE(support) reversed and M(mass) | |
| 19 | Custom somewhat hard at first (5) |
| HABIT – A BIT(somewhat) after H(hard) | |
| 20 | Willing girlfriend coming to game — it’s a start (5,6,2) |
| READY STEADY GO – READY(willing), STEADY(girlfriend) and the game of GO | |
| 22 | Aid learner, one cutting the knot? (6) |
| RELIEF – L(learner) and I(one) inside a REEF knot | |
| 23 | Impressive flower up for arrangement (8) |
| POWERFUL – anagram of FLOWER,UP | |
| 25 | Hamper opinion surrounding request (6) |
| BASKET – BET(opinion) surrounding ASK(request) | |
| 26 | Hack back old-fashioned, short frizzy hairdo (8) |
| REPORTER – RETRO (old fashioned) and PERM(frizzy hairdo) missing the last letter, all reversed | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Immature group of pupils in cockpit (10) |
| GREENHOUSE – GREEN(immature) and HOUSE(group of pupils) | |
| 2 | Vapid chatter to flag up (3) |
| GAS – SAG(flag) reversed | |
| 3 | Occupants in temporary shelters want at heart to be housed (7) |
| TENANTS – TENTS(temporary shelters) containing the middle letters of wANt | |
| 4 | Nice to see moderate article embracing acceptable opinion (4,2,3,3) |
| EASY ON THE EYE – EASY(moderate) and THE(article) containing ON(acceptable) then EYE(judgement, opinion) | |
| 6 | Initially en route today to block Spanish port, causing complaint (7) |
| VERTIGO – first letters of En Route Today inside of VIGO(Spanish port) | |
| 7 | Unfortunately, woman prematurely cancelled bill in bank (11) |
| REGRETTABLY – the woman is GRETA, missing her last letter, then TAB(bill) inside RELY(bank) | |
| 8 | Jacob’s missus maybe runs vessel (4) |
| EWER – EWE(a Jacob is a kind of sheep), then R(runs) | |
| 11 | Swimming right into animal, getting hit (12) |
| BREASTSTROKE – R(right) inside BEAST(animal), then STROKE(hit) | |
| 13 | Tissue of lies to troll about (6-5) |
| TOILET-ROLLS – anagram of LIES,TO,TROLL | |
| 14 | Regulator of company books a posh car (10) |
| CONTROLLER – CO(company), NT(New Testament, books), ROLLER(Rolls Royce, posh car) | |
| 18 | Swing music introduced by kid on the radio (7) |
| TRAPEZE – RAP(music?) inside what sounds like TEASE(kid) | |
| 19 | Notice call to effort (5-2) |
| HEAVE-HO – double definition, notice meaning firing, or giving the old heave-ho | |
| 21 | Bed made of mostly turned wood (4) |
| CRIB – BIRCH(wood), missing the last letter, reversed | |
| 24 | Thick offender having stumbled in seconds (3) |
| FAT – second letters of oFfender hAving sTumbled | |
I also had SLAB and TRANNIE before I saw the light.
I had never heard of ‘GREEK’ as a word for a rogue either, but I biffed that one anyway as I already had the B and G.
I wasted a lot of time by putting in ‘SLAB’ for 21d. Eventually I realised that 22a could not be ‘L-L’ something and spotted ‘RELIEF’. Then I realised what the answer to 21d was; right wordplay, wrong tree!